Method and apparatus for producing low carbon metal



H. A. BRAssERT A 1,991,008

Feb. 12, 1935.

v METHOD AND APPARATUS F011 PRODUCING LOW CARBON METAL i 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 'Filed Jan. s, 1952 m55 MW* d@ v .H mm/Z5 @7a/@M f Feb. 12, 1935. A H. A. BRAssERT 1,991,008

METHOD AND APPARATUS 'FOR PRODUCING Low CABON METAL Filed Jan. 8, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z0 El coese OEE l rug-Linux Fut/.faux

Feb. 12, 1935. y H, A, BRASSERT 1,991,008

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING LOW CARBON lMETAL Filed Jan.- 8, 1932 :s 'sheets-sheet 3 I 1&3 907 A i l@ Patented Feb. 12, 1935 I t UNITED STATES PATENT ori-ICE IVIETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING LOW CABBGN METAL Herman A. Brassert, Chicago, Ill., assigjnor to H. A. Brassert & Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Y Application January `8, 1932, Serial No. 585,430 5.Cllms. (Cl. V'l5- 17) This invention relates to a new and improved new enterprises, the proposed furnace with its method and apparatus for the purpose of proaccessoriesl may take the place of coke ovens, ducing low carbon metal of pure quality diblastfurnaces, and in part Bessemer and open rectly from ores and scrap without permitting hearths, reducing the major operation of prothe metal from becoming carbonized as in presducing low carbon metal to Vone process and 5 ent blast furnace practice. The refining of'the 'reducing the investment cost per, ton of prod-A metal to steel may be carried on in the same uct to a fraction of the present figure.

furnace or existing open hearths or electric The iirst object of this process is to avoid the furnaces may be used for the finishing operasaturation of the iron with carbon, as occurs.

tion. The fuel used is, finely divided carbon in to a specially high degree in our modern blast 10 the shape of coke or coal screenings for reducfurnaces in which a large Amore or less inert tion, and powdered fuel, oil or gas for melting cone of coke rests on the bottom of the hearth and refining. The preferred metallic burden and extends upwardinto the shaft of the furwould consist of iron ores and scrap in the pronace, causing complete saturation of the metal portions usually consumed by modern steel with carbon by its long contact with thiscoke 15 plants in their blast furnaces and open hearths. mass. This carbon yhas to be removed in the 'Ihis method, therefore, obvi'ates the charging subsequent -steel making process at avlargeexof cold scrap into the open hearth. Ipense of time, fuel and labor, as well as capital The fuel consumption per ton of metal is expense on account of the'excessive apparatus I materially less than in combined 4blast furnace required. Furthermore, in theblast. furnace, 20

Yand openhearth practice, and the product is a and again especially in the modern type with metal low in carbon, very fre from sulphur its exaggerated large hearth diameter, an inand oxides and much better suited for finishing creasing percentage ef the ore passes through in the open hearth than Bessemer blown metal. an oxidizing zone which exists in front of the Oneiof the objects of the process is to pretuyres, with deleterious effect on the quality 25 serve the original manganese content of the 'of the iron.

ore charge. In` the present duplex method I n a preferred method of operation theprowhere the iron is blown in a Bessemerconposed shaft furnace, fineores are mixed with vertor the manganese is lost during `the blow finely divided fuel and charged against the walls through'oxidation and an over-oxidized metai and the coarser ore, sinter and scrap, with a 30 without the protecting presence of manganese small percentage of coarser fuel and lflux, is is charged into the 4open` hearth furnace for placed in thecenter. This preferential division Irefining and nishing. The lack of manganese of material has the purpose of preventing the is a serious objection tothe-duplex process and gases from flowing up on the walls by compelin order to make a high quality of steel, addiling them to sweep up through the more open 35 tional manganese in the form of manganese center. 'There they perform the duty of pref` or spiegelor ferro must in many cases be added heating the coarser materials, calcinjng the to the open hearth bathn in order to produce a iiux and supporting the reduction of the lumpy metalfree from oxides, such manganese being ores. In this wayy the tendency of the gases to 40 in excess of those added to the bath or the travel along the walls with resulting economic 40 ladle at the finish. It is possible with the p/rolosses and overheating of the wall regions is .posed method to add sufficient manganese to "counteracted The mixture of fine ores and carthe top charge to replace a substantial amount j bon is allowed to preheat'gradally as it travels of the final ferro additions, resulting in an imthrough the progressivezones of temperature portant saving. This method of adding the required for gasification of the carbon of the 45 manganese has the advantage that low grade fuel to CO in contact with the oxygen of the manganiferous ores can be used in' place of ore and for the immediately following reduction rich ores or ferro manganese and also that theV of 4the oxides -by this CO in a highly reactive manganese is reduced and ypreheated to afhigh state due tor its status nascen This reac- 59 degreev before entering the bath. tion is practically exothermie and therefore not 50 I Metallurgical coke is not required as almost .much heat is required in the section adjacent any fuels can be used. Small coke and coke 'to the wall. The'eciency of this reductionprocnnesefare niost suitable and therefore y noness is well known from numerous )and exten? y coking coals or such of poor coking quality be'- sive experiments. The intimate mixture of carcome available for iron and steel making. In boniines with iln oxides greatly acceleratesjlg reduction and permits reduction to be completed in a fraction of the time and therefore in a short column, as compared with the blast furnace. The carbon used is cheaper than blast furnace coke. The amount of carbon added to the ore must, in most cases, be in excess of the amount required for direct reduction in order to furnish the carbon required to bring the carbon dioxide back to carbon monoxide as it leaves the annular combustion space'to enter the lower end of the shaft. This being an endothermic reaction helps to reduce the temperature in the shaft and maintains the reducing atmosphere in the melting column which is desirable .in most cases.

. The heat required for melting is provided by a more ecient method than the combustion of coke to CO at the tuyres of a blast furnace. My' improved furnace is designed with a hearth developed to contain a combustion chamber which permits the injection and complete combustion of external fuel, such as powdered fuel, oil or gas. The combustion can be complete: because it takes place in a, large annular combustion chamber in which a full flame development is permitted. In the blast furn'ace, on. the other hand, combustion is incomplete, because it takes place in a restricted area in the presence'of an excess of carbon, although an oxidizing'zone exists in the immediate vicinity of the tuyres. For the reason of lack of combustion spaceattempts toinject fuel through the tuyres of Va blast furnace have always met with failure.

Compared to temperature conditions in the` retical flame temperature from the complete` combustion of powdered coal being approximately 1,000 degrees higher. For instance, with. the air preheated to 2,000 F. as is proposed,l and with a good grade'of powdered coal, the theoretical flame temperature is approximately 4., 200 F.

From the viewpoint of an open hearth furnace, the proposed furnace has the advantage of better flame control, the fuel being injected through one or more rows of multiple tuyres uinformly spaced around the hearth and playing directly on the melting column and the molten bath respectively, whereas in the open hearth the 'amfe is applied at one end of a long bath only and its development and proximity to the surface of the bath are difficult to control. The waste gases in the open hearth are used for regeneration of the air and gas and flow directly 4into the checkerwork of the regenerators, laden with oxides, fumes and dust, which rapidly ll up the checkers and progressively decrease the economy of the process during the furnace campaign until the checkers are replaced. In my improved furnace the heat of the waste gases usual open hearth regenerator, such stOVe-S 0perate at an extremely high eiciency, an improvement over former practice which has been made possible by the use of clean gas. Stoves of this type last for many years and 'their use with the furnace will obviate the present high repair and maintenance cost of the open health regenerator.

l My furnace permits of control of the process of melting and refining through positive regulation of the fuel and air ratio at any moment of the operation. Such regulation is difficult to obtain in the open hearth furnace owing to the short reversal periods. In the proposed furnace there is no reversal, the reversal taking place outside of the furnace in the hot blast stoves. This is a fundamental improvement over the present open hearth method.

The hearth of the furnace is provided with an annular recess adjacent to its walls for receiving and holding the molten metal as it trickles down oif the face of the melting stock column.

The upper tuyres are placed more nearly radially, .whereas the lower tuyres are arranged tangntially and inclined so as to impinge the flames directly on the bath. In this manner the most direct contact between flame and bath is obtained. By increasing the speed of the names, the bath can be given a rotary motion, exposing new surfaces to the action of the flames, thereby accelerating the refining reactions.

The process is preferably carried-ion continuously or may be operated intermittently. If carried on continuously the melting is preferably done with va neutral or even reducing flame, which .latter method becomes possible owing to the high temperature and the concentrated flame effect. If reducing, melting and' refining is carried out in a reducing gas phase throughout, an extraordinary high quality of steel will result. In that case the analysis of the metal is controlled by varying the fuel to ore ratio in the,v

top charges and the melting atmosphere in the hearth. Additions may be made, if necessary, through doors provided for that purpose. The time of charges in the furnace from top to melt and their metallic weight corresponds to the time and weight of each heat tapped, softhat changes in burden are effective in less than two hours and the quality of each heat can be regulated by altering the charge in accordance with the results of the preceding heat.

` A more basic slag is used in this process than blast furnace or oven open hearth slags. The fact that the limeis charged in the center and the higher temperatures in the hearth make this possible. The superheat'ed and basic slag will have great desulphurizing power.- It can be withdrawn continuously through an open cinder notch, leaving a thin layer on top of the annular bath.y e

The bath is substantially V\shaped in cross section in order that it should present a largeV metal surfa'ce withthe thinnest possible covering of slag for a. given slag volume. This also results in the largest contact area for interfacial reactions between the metal andthe slag.

If dephosphorization is' desired in the shaft furnace operation, an oxidizing name would be used and underits influence and in the presence of unreduced oxides descending through the center of the stack, a basic oxidizing slag will result which will absorb the phosphorus from melting period. Due to the comparatively large of slag to finally remove the phosphorus without high in iron oxide.

entailing iron losses through the use of a slag In other words', iron oxides 'can be replaced by lime, even to a greater extent than in the electric furnace.

This process is also particularly suited for the production of ferro manganese, ferro silicon and other alloys, particularly those which like manganese and silicon can only be reduced by direct contact with carbon and CO at high temperatures. In the blast furnace manganese ore and silicecus ore are reduced and the metals smelted by the use of metallurgical coke. AAs the vmanganese or respectivelyv the silicon trickle past the tuyres they are oxidized and volatilized in contact with the hot blast in the tuyre zone and a substantial amount of the total elements contained in the charge is lost. In the case of ferro manganese production the loss in the tuyre zone generally representshali theV total loss. In other words, it is as great asuthe loss of manganese in the slag.

In the case of ferro silicon there is also a substantial loss and in both cases the presence of metal fumes in the gases presents the most dimcult problem of the cleaning of the gases so they may be used economically in hot blast stoves and under boilers.

My process largely overcomes this diculty as the reduced ore descending from\the shaft does not come in contact with an air blast but descends into the hearth mixed with suicient excess carbon beyond that required for reduction, to reduce-the CO2 inthe gases of combustion to CO and protect the metals from becom- .ing oxidized. The exceedingly high temperatures existing in my hearth establish a preponderant anity of the oxygen for the carbon rather than for the metals.

In the case of producing manganese the process has the additional advantage that very basic slags can be carried, thereby further reducing the manganese losses, in fact the manganese loss can be held to a minimum. In the 'case of producing vferro silicon highly acid slags can be used without saturating the metal with an excessive amount of sulphur, the sulphur content of the metal being controlled by the high temperatures prevailing in thev hearth which is not possible in the blast furnace.

For the production of lead from lead ores and copper Amatt from copper ores, the process has very definite advantages over present methods.

I'he process is suited lto the use of both coarse and fine ores and also to the use of fuels which are more readily available .and cheaper than metallurgical coke.' In ythe melting of lead the proposed furnace has the advantage overv the usual methods that it presentsia very large surface for the separation of the metal from the slag, thereby reducing lead losses in the slag. It also has the advantage in the slmelting of any metals of much more accurate temperature control than is possible with existing furnaces, as

' well as control of the reducing and melting atmosphere. It permits the lead and copper processes to be carried on within a higher range of temperature than by present methods, thereby accelerating the process vland increasing the unit production. Oxidation losses are also decreased for the same reasonl mentioned in connection with steel and ferrous metal production.

Itis an object of the present invention` to provide a new and improved method and furnace for the production of metals directly from ores, and particularly of low carbon metal from iron ore.-

It, is an additional object to provide a furnace having` a charging system for controlling the distribution of the charge in the shaft portion of the furnace.

- It is also an object to provide a furnace having a shaftportion discharging by gravity through an unrestricted opening'into la hearth of materially greater diameter than the shaft.

It is a further object to provide a furnace having an annular combustion chamber surroundingthe ylower portion' of the descending column'of stock.

It is an additional object to provide a furnace having an annular bath surrounding the column of material ani substantially out of con-i tact with the material, the bath being preferably of substantially wide V-shap'ed cross section to afford wide contact between the slag and metal.

It is also an objectto provide a furnace having a raised hearth center for supporting the descending column of material above the level of the surrounding molten metal in the bath.

It isA a further object `to provide a furnace in which the area ofthe shaft portion, the' area of the .raised hearth below the 'shaft portion'and maintained and may be modified in contour or in area if desired.A

It is also an object to provide a furnace having a plurality of rows or series of tuyres provided with independent bustle pipes whereby the different sets of tuyres may be operated independently of each other. A 4

It is a further object to provide a furnace in which the' dome may be water cooled and in vaddi/tion provided with means for introducing cooling gases to ow along adjacent the inner surface of the dome or roof and also to cool the knuckle joint at the intersection of the shaft and hearth portion of the furnace.

It is an objectf'to provide a process for the production of low carbon metal directly from the ores with or Without the addition of material quantities of scrap.

It is affurther object to' provide a process which may be carried cin-continuously or intermittently.

It is also an object to provide 'a process bywhich the1melting stock column and bath 'of .molten metal may be treated independentlydn a single unitary furnace.

It is an additional object to provide a process -in which a highly basic slag is used and in which yIt is'also an object to provide-'a process inl which carbon for direct reduction is charged with the stock and in which a reducing atmosphere is carried in the stack portion of the furnace. i

It is an object of the invention to provide a method using fuel other than metallurgical coke for the reduction of ore and for the melting of the metal and slag.

It'is a further object to provide a process in which a portion of the ore is reduced directly in contactvwith carbon mixed with the charge and another portion of the ore reduced with CO gases generated at the bottom of the stack from carbon injected into the hearth.

It is an additional object to provide a process in which a portion of the ore is reduced directly in contact with carbon mixed with the charge and another portion of the ore reduced with CO gases generated partly from fuel injected into the hearth and partly from carbon mixed with the charge.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a method for heating the hearth of a reducing furnace by complete combustion of external fuel injected into said hearth and subsequently reducing the products of such completel combustion with highly preheated. carbon descending through a shaft with the charge.

It is a further object to produce a low carbon ferrous metal for duplexing, containing a. substantial amount of the original manganese content of the charge.

It is an'additional object to produce a low `carbon ferrous metal from iron ore with orV nese direct from manganese ores without the use of metallurgical coke.

It is an additional object to produce ferro manganese direct from manganese ores usingv as a fuel, partly finely divided carbon with or without coke mixed with the charge, and partly fuel injected into the furnace.

It is also an object tol produce a ferro manganese with the low carbon content directly from ores, said carbon content-being less than two percent. J

It is also an object to provide.a method for producing ferro manganese directly from manganiferous ores by exposing said ores tothe reducing atmospheres throughout the process, thereby largely preventing loss of manganese through oxidation.

It is also an object to produce` a ferro silicon direct from silicon ores without the use'of metallurgical coke. y v

It is an additional object to produce ferro silicon vdirect from silicon ores using as a fuel, partly finely divided carbon with or without coke mixed with the charge, and partly fuelk lower portion of the furnace. It will be obinjected into the furnace. I

It is also an object to produce a ferro silicon with the low `carbon content directly from ores, -said,carbon content being less than two percent. J

It is also an object to provide a method for production of ferro silicon directly from ores vby exposing said ores to the reducing atmospheres throughout the process, thereby largely preventing loss of silicon through oxidation.

Another object of'my invention is to provide a support for a column of vpreheated stock to be melted, said support consisting of a substantially horizontal refractory wall of sufcient` area and width to retain the melting materialsy in accordance with their natural angle of repose so that under the influence of a blow torch.

ame directed against the sloping surface of the melting column the molten liquid material only will run ofi' the supporting refractory wall, whereas the solid center of the column will continue to rest thereon. i

A further object of the invention is to pro-- which can be extended at willr by increasingthe longitudinal dimension of the furnace.

Another object of my invention is to provide a back-wall for a melting hearth having a slope substantially flatter than the angle of repose of the materials, said slope functioning ,as a support for preheated materialsdescending through a vertical shaft connected with said hearth. Y

Another objectof.my invention is to connect a melting and' refining' hearth with a vertical shaft of such forni andin such a manner that the contour and the width of the opening of the shaft at its lower end will retard and facilitate the-control of the movement of "Ithematenms' fron the shaft into the hearth without causing these lmaterials to hang up in the shaft furnace.

Other and further objects will appear as the description proceeds. y

I have shown a preferred embodiment of my improved furnace in the accompanying drawings, in whichl Figure 1 is anelevation of the upper .part of the furnace;

Figure 2 is a vvertical section of the lower part of the furnace, Figure 2 joining on immediately at the lower edge of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary section showing a modied form of construction of the knuckle jointv at the juncture of the lower end of the shaft and upper edge of the hearth;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectionthrough a modified form of furnace; and

Figure 5 is a horizontal section of the. form of construction shown in Figure 4.

Referring rst to Figure 2, the furnace is provided with a lower hearth portion 11 and with an upper independently supported shaft -portion 12, this shaft portion being carried by a steel framework indicated generally at 13. The shaft portion is provided with an outer metal wall 14 and with an inner lining 15 of refractory brick.' A plurality ofwater cooled plates 16 are preferably provided for cooling and maintaining the refractory lining in the v29, above the line 21.

- with a plurality of metal plates 19 which pro-` tect the refractory lining against the action of the stock charged into the upper end of' the furnace. of the wear plates flares outwardly as shown a't This outward flare is located below the normal stock line which has been indicated in broken lines at 22. The furnace top 23 above'thestock line also flares outwardly so asv to provide a large areav for the gases leading' tothe offtakes 24. This flaring arrangement of the furnace below the stock line causes an increased area at the top of the stock which reduces the gas velocity in the upper layers of the stock and thereby minimizes the carrying of g dust from the stock. .The large area in the Vflaring portion'23 further reduces the gas velocity so as to cause dust carried from the stock to drop back upon it. A

The charging hopper '25 is closed at its lower end by a composite bell having a small upper section 26 and a large lower section 27. The section 27 is carried on the rod 28 while the upper section 26 is carried on the tube 29. It will be noted that the lower section 27 is hollow and when the upper section 26 is dropped and the lower section 27 maintained in its position as shown in Figure 2, material from the hopper 25 will discharge from section 26 against the Linside of section 27 which will direct it toward the center of the furnace. When both sections are ,dropped together, material will flow over the outer surfaces of both sections and will thereby be directed toward the face of the flaring furnace lining shown at 20.

The belll operating and charging mechanisms are shown in Figure l. The upper bell 30 is carried by the tube 31, which` is suspended by rods ,32 from the bell crank lever 33, which is pivoted at 34 upon a support carried by the supporting framework 35. This bell crank 33 is operated by the cable 36. The charging skip The inner surface of the' lining and the bell crank 55 in the counterclockwiseydigm track is shown atl 37 with the charging skip 38 connected bythe bell 39 to the cable 40 passing over the sheaves 41 and 42 to the downwardly extending cable portion 43.

The tube 29 which is connected to the upper section 26 of the large bell is connected bythe 'chain links 44 to the bell crank 45 which is shown as pivotally supported on the same axis 34 as the bell crank 33. The outer arm 46 of the bell crank 45 is provided'with an operating cable 47. 'I'hi's-A arm 46 also carries a pin 48 which operates-in the vslot 49 formed in the link 50 which isv pivotally supported at 51 on the upper bell crank 52. pivotally supported -at 53 and its short arm has connected thereto the chain cable 54 which is connected in turn to rod 28 which operates the lower section 27 of the large bell. The latch bell crank 55 is pivotally supported at 56 on the framework and has an operating cable l5'.' secured to its short arm. This latch bell crank is providedy with a cross pin 58 carried at its upperend which, as shown in Figure 1, rests in a notch `formed in the upper end of the detent member 59 carried by the outer end of .thebell crank 33 and its operating cable 36 the bell crank 52. The offtake 24 is shown wit a usual type of bleeder valve at 60.

The operation of the small bell 30 by means of This bell crank 52 is rection. A release then'of the cable 47 permits the bell crank 45 to swing in the clockwise direction to lower the upper section 26 of the bell and the connecting link 50 permits the bell crank 52 to similarly move in the lsame ydirection. Both bell sections are raised together` by adownward .pull on the cable 47. if the upper large bell section 26 lis to be lowered alone, the detent cross bar 58 is-permittecl to remain in its position in Figure 1, and the cable 47 is slacked. In this case, ,the bell crank 45 swings in the clockwise direction to lower the bell 26, but the bell crank 52 is restrained against movement by the cross bar 58 fitting in. the notch in the member 59. The pin 48 carried by bell crank 45 moves freely in the slot 49 in the connecting link 50.

The lower or hearth portion of the furnace is provided with a raised central hearth section 61 .which serves to support the bottom of the column o f material which extends from the shaft portion 12 into the hearth portion ll. The V-shaped bath of metal 62 entirely surrounds the raised hearth portion 61. This bath is v-shaped in cross section in order to give a Wide contactA surface between the metal and the slag thereon. A metal tapping hole is shown at 63.

A lower series of tuyres 64 is shown as extending through the dome-shaped roof 65. These tuyres 64 are connected by pipes66 to the busy main 68 is adapted to carry gas or other fuell and is connected by pipe 69 tothe rear end -of the tuyre at 70. An upper set of tuyres 71 extend into the hearth through the roof and are -connected by pip'es 72 to the bustle pipe 73, lthis pipe serving to carry a hot blast of air to -the tuyres. These tuyres 71 are connected by the pipe 74 to the fuel main 75. A plurality of cooling slots or openings 76 and 77 are located in the roof of the hearthvsection, the slots 77 being located closely adjacent the knuckle joint at 78. These slots 76v and 77 are connected by pipes 79 and 8l) to the pipe 81 which connects to the cooling gas main 82. The furnace dome or roof 65 is preferably made up of a plurality of sections having metallic outer portions 83 l withv inwardly extending metallic fins 84 provided with water cooling passages 85. The water cooling connections have been shown at 86. The refractorybrick 87 are held between the water cooled extensions 84.

The upper ends of the metallic roof sections are supported by a continuous metallic key ring 88, which is also preferably water cooled as.

In the form of construction shown in Figure 2, these rings are set back with their facings so as to give a somewhat enlarged areato the lower end of the stack. A plurality of water cooled slide members 92 are provided, these members-closing the space between the refractory carried, by the ring 89vand the ring 88.

These' members 92 may be of wedge-shape or` such other shape as to permit a part of them tobe moved inwardly of the shaft, as shown in Figure 2,- so as 'J selectively reduce the effective lso and an air cooled central passage 106.

passage area both for material from the shaft and for gases flowing from the hearth. These members 92 may be vwithdrawn so as to bring them within the contour of the water cooled rings and refractories to give a maximum discharge area to the stack.

The form of construction shown in- Figure 3 is similar to that just described in connection with Figure 2, with the exception that the ring 93 and hearth ring 94 extend outwardly to the plane of the inner refractory lining of the shaft section 12. The slide members 95 may be'. moved inwardly or outwardly to further restrict the opening at the lower end of the stack.

In the form of construction shown in Figures 4 and 5 a rectangular shaft portion 101 is shown, the top being broken away in Figure 4 and it being understood that any suitable charging mechanism may be used with this form, such for example as that shown in Figures 1 and\2. I

The lower end of the stack portion 101 discharges into a hearth, 102having a roof 103 supported at the knuckle joint with the stack by meanslof the transversely extending casting 104, which lis shown with water cooled passages 105, A set of tuyres 107 are introduced through the roof 103 at such an angle as to direct flame on the bottom of a column of stock coming into the hearth 102 fronb the shaft. 'This stock line has been indicated at 108., The tuyres 10'7 are con- 'nected to a header 109 for ,supplyingL air and toJ pipe 110 for supplying fuel. 'I'he hearth is provided with the inclined surface 111 to supmaterial 11,2 thereon due to the angle of repose of the bottom making'material.

The hearth is provided with the metal bath receiving recess 113 to which modten `metal will flow from the stock. The series of tuyres 114 extend through the front wall of the furnace in o rder to direct a reflnin'g ameupon the bath of metal. These tuyres 114 are provided with a connection 115 to the air header 116. The pipe connection 117 leads to a source of fuel. As shown in Figure 5 the sides 118 of thefurnace are provided with doors 119 through which material may be charged to the hearth and through which any necessary bottom making or repairing operations may be carried on. The usual type of tapping hole is shown at 120. This type of furnace may be built in varying sizes, the, only limitation being the structural strength of the water cooled girder supporting the shaft and the hearth roof.

In the use of the furnaces of the types shown and described to carry out my improved process,

`when the bathhas become filled with metal,

melting may be practically stopped by discontinuing the flame through the upper burners and applying a reducing flame through the lower burners during which period a basic `:reducing slag is formed. The gas volume created by combustion during refining will be only a fraction .of that generated during melting. The refining flame being directed vtangentially against the bath, their focus of heat is quite far removed from the opening of the shaft so that melting in the center of the hearth is practically stopped during this period, the heat of combustion being largely consumed by 'its transfer to the bath:

In the reducing atmosphere then existing the combustion of carbon descending inthe shaft which was not consumed in reduction will also stop. If necessary, the gases or a portion thereof may be withdrawn duringreflning through certain of the upper melting tuyres.vv

The refining period after removal of the basic oxidizing slag will occupy about one h'our. Doors are provided for adding lime, fluor-spar, manganese or other additions to the bath during the refining period, 'or Vsuch materials may be blown in through the tuyres. Metal and final slag are removed when tapping the furnace, rwhich is equipped with blast furnace tapping and stopping devices so that a minimum of timeis lost between refining and resumptionof the next melting period.

In many cases on account of existing equip'- ment it willbe more economical to carry on the final refining lin the open hearth or electric furnace. This permits the shaft furnace toV run continuously as a melter, desulphuri'zer or de- 'phosphorizen and continuous operation may have advantages and economies which offset the cost of a secondary refining operation in a separate furnace. For instance, the 'shaft furnace could deliver a heat of low silicon, low carbon and low sulphur to the open hearth or a heat of low phosphorus, low carbon to the electric furnace, requiring only a small fraction'of the time now consumed in these processes for the final refining.

The operation of the furnace may be started by heating the hearth and burning in the bottom, then filling the stack with the regular charges allowing the materials to rest on the bottom. After the stack is filled with materials the 'injection of fuel with hot air'through the upper tuyres commences. The flames playing directly on and all around the exposedl stock column at extremely'high temperatures will rapidly melt away` the column of reduced ore and scrap resting on the bottom, and in melting away willv allow other materials to continually descend from the shaft. Charging at the top is continuous as long as melting proceeds. The molten metal trickles over the face of the melting stock column and gathers in the annulam bath sur rounding the melting stock which acts as a backwall to the annular hearth.

When the hearth becomes filled with metal of the desired analysis, it is tapped.. After tapping melting proceeds immediately. Needed repairs may be made to the bottom in the manner usual to open hearth practice, between heats, such repairs being facilitated by the proximity of the bath to the peripheryof the furnace.

The productive capacity of the unit is very large. A furnace with a 10"v throat, a 12'V bosh and 31 hearth diameter, as shown in Figures 1' and 2, is estimated to produce 600 tons of low carbon metal per day from a charge in which 60% .of the metal is derived from ore and 40% from scrap.

The shaft is carried'independent of the hearth -on a steel structure and the joint between the dome of the hearth and the lower shaft ring 'is packed with fireproof material and water cooled on both faces.

This joint may be vertical or preferentially horizontal or at an angle to vfa- `cilitate withdrawal or moving in or out of the water cooled metallic ring segments or of highly refractory segments which form the lower inner `edge of the shaft lining. By -moving these segl ments in or out, the flow of materials from the 1 shaft into the hearth may be retarded or accelermerece ated. The dome is also intensely water cooled and is lined with special high temperature brick. In addition provision has been made for admitting cooling gases, preferably chimney gases from hot blast stoves, to the underside of the dome and the knuckle joint. The ducts provided for this purpose may also be used for withdrawing gases when it is not desired to pass such Y gases through the stock.

The main features of the furnace are thecharging system on top for controlling distribution, the unrestricted opening at the bottom of the shaft into a hearth of much larger diameter, resulting in an annular combustion chamber surrounding the melting stock, the raised central portion of the bottom for carrying the melting stock column which is wider than the lower end of the shaft portion, so that it may' substantially prevent masses of descending ma- While I have shown and described certain pre' ferredA embodiments of furnaces and various methods of carrying out my improved processes, these are to be understood as illustrative only, as both furnace and process are 'capable of further modification and change to meet varying requirements and conditions and I contemplate such changes and modifications as come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

li claim: l l. The method of producing molten metal from ores, which comprises maintaining a composite column of material, said column 'comprising a central portion of coarse ore with a small percentage of coarse fuel and flux, and

an outer portion of fine ore niixed with n'ely' divided fuel and substantially free of ilux, directing a melting flame caused by injecting fuel and air adjacent the lower portion of the column, and maintaining a reducing atmosphere inthe upper portion of the column.

2. The method of producing molten metal from ores, which comprises'maintaining a composite column of material, said column comprising a central portion of coarse ore with a small percentage of coarse fuel and ux, and an outer portion of ne'ore mixed with finely divided fuel and substantially free of ux, directinga melting iiame caused by injecting fuel and air adjacent the lower portion of the column, directing a refining flame upon metal flowing from the column, and maintaining a reducing atmosphere in the upper portion of the column.

4. The method of producing ferrous metal of low carbon content from ores, which comprises maintaining a composite column of material, said column comprisingV a central portion of coarse ore. and ferrous'scrap, and an outer' portion of iine ore mixed with finely divided carbon, injecting fuel and air, and directing a melting flame causedby their substantially ooml 5. The method of producing ferrous metal of llow carbon content from ores, which comprises maintaining a composite column of material, said column comprising a central portion of coarse ore and ferrous scrap, and an outer por tion of iin'e ore mixed with finely divided car bon, injecting fuel and air, directing a melting flame caused by their substantially complete combustion adjacent the lower portion of the column, and directing an independently controlled reiining ame upon molten metal ow- `ing from 'the stock column, the carbon charged with the ore being not materially in excess of that necessary for direct reduction and for reducing the carbon dioxide from the combustion to carbon monoxide;

HERMAN A. BRASSmT. 

